Rattles and Cradles
by Rei Haruno -Sakura no Imooto
Summary: Hi, my name is Roderich. I'm a jobless man living with a non-relative that feeds me. Meet Max; he's a child from the streets, and I decided to keep him. However, it seemed like he's not the only one I brought in here.
1. I Brought a Child In

Hi! Once again, I am presenting a horror-themed story using the Hetalia characters. Welcome to **Rattles and Cradle**! Obviously, this story will include a baby. This is obviously AU and a bit OOC; I will also employ minimal use of characters. This is also a bit PruAus in the making. I hope you will have fun! (There's something about the names of the cities, and the German readers- or those who understood German- will notice that. Kesesese-)

This is set in modern day and in an area with some special circumstances. The places are fictional as well as the events if ever. This is pure imagination at work- with the help of some resources from some movies and series that I watched before.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything from Hetalia: everything belongs to Hima-papa. Though I have some resources, none came from any story written in . Plot and dialogue are mein wassermelone!

**Warnings**: Gore, horror, strong language and some scary shit that could discourage people. Some hints of shounen-ai, I think. I also need to constantly remind you guys of jumping POVs.

**...**

**Rattles and Cradle**

**...**

**Summary**: Hi, my name is Roderich. I'm a jobless man living with a non-relative that feeds me. Meet Max; he's a child from the streets, and I decided to keep him. However, it seemed like he's not the only one I brought in here.

**...**

**Rattles and Cradle**

**...**

Rounded blue orbs stared at me as I sit across him in the lounge. He was on the sofa, holding the baby bottle that he wouldn't give back. It was already filled and emptied several times, and now, he just liked to keep it. Instead of sleeping, he would stare back at me. I don't have a crib for him yet so I need Gilbert to buy one. To think about it, it's that fool's pay day today.

It was supposed to be a normal Friday afternoon, aside from the failed Milchreis Day. There was supposed to be a field day for the city- its foundation day- but no one dared to go outside their homes. An unknown kind of disease plagued the city and caused the city gate closure. With the city gates closed, only the Apfel City Line was the access to the city. Horrendous procedures were done just to enter and exit Milchreis through the Line, bothering all the remaining people who are employed outside Milchreis. Unfortunately, my flatmate was one of those people.

His name was Gilbert Beilschmidt, and he's a QCA manager somewhere in Apfel. I'll just say he looks a bit unique since his hair is naturally platinum blond and his eyes are blazing red. He's also some sort of a foolish asshole- plain stupid wouldn't be enough. But he feeds me even though I do housework with fifty-percent success rate. Somehow, I should be thankful the whole time.

It was quite a long story how I get to stay here with Gilbert for seven years now. We don't have much connection for him to keep me; we just met each other back in tenth grade in a school in Milchreis. But he's not a bad flatmate- a good one if anything. He's not littering, and he cleans up after himself. I just hope he wouldn't mind having Max around.

The main door knob began to shift, keys clinking from the other side. The door then opened, revealing an exhausted person with a heavy work bag. He walked to the lounge and almost died on the floor as he fell on his hands and knees.

"Argh, those procedures are draining the sh-"

"We have a guest." I interrupted him all of a sudden, earning a glare from the fool. He then sat down on the floor and looked around only to see child on the sofa. I could tell that his red orbs met with those blue ones, causing a moment of staring between them. Dropping the bag on the floor, he then smiled and got up to pet the child.

"Hi, little fellow! Did your mother come and see this guy?" He greeted the child enthusiastically, but the child only stared at him. Gilbert hummed happily as he waited for a response from the child. Any response would do, but none came. I just had to break the almost silence.

"I found him walking around alone in the streets. I just decided to keep him and call him Max."

"-You brought a child in?"

"Yes, I brought a child in."

**...**

**Rattles and Cradle**

**Rei Haruno- Sakura no Imooto**

**Chapter 1: I Brought a Child In**

**...**

It was just starting to snow so the streets were only covered in a thin layer of the white fluffy road bitch. In our thick coats, Gilbert and I decided to take Max to the rundown city police station. It hasn't been much in use because crimes had gone haywire yet they can only help a few. A lot of manpower was pulled out during the prime of the plague; another fifty-percent was deployed in the Apfel City Line Station 7, 9 and 10. But Gilbert was pretty sure Max's parents would still look for him.

We had that conversation for quite a long while, and it ended with me being forced to just get it done. I really wanted to take care of this poor child, but Gilbert said I couldn't because he's someone else's child. (Though he emphasized that we couldn't leave him alone if ever he had no parents now.) I didn't know what I was expecting from the police, but I really wished he could stay.

Soon, Gilbert and I reached the station, only to find a lot of people in the reception. Children were also there and waiting with some adults that may or may not be their parents. I could hear Gilbert growl in annoyance before he dragged me to sit down with him at some vacant seats.

"I wonder what's going on." It was all I could say upon seeing a child cry in the shoulders of an adult woman as they walked out from a room. Gilbert only sighed and stretched before checking his watch, "We should have eaten dinner before coming. This will take a long-"

"Excuse me, how can we help you?" A female officer came to us. I exchanged gazes with the fool before he said, "Uh, we're reporting for a lost child. My flatmate saw him walking alone in the streets."

The girl then smiled at us and gestured us to follow her. We did, and we were brought to the bulletin board where posters of missing people were posted. We both began checking posters for anyone that might fit Max's description. The female officer then started talking, "The last report came in three days ago. If he's not one of them, then his parents might have been killed by the plague, too. Like those children. A whole office was affected by the plague earlier; everyone was found dead."

She sighed before continuing, "We couldn't do much about things. If that kid's parents are already gone, I guess you should just keep him until, you know. You guys look very able. You should leave Milchreis soon- if you think you could get out, that is."

"Poor little fella." Gilbert whispered as he finished looking through the missing posters. The female officer just bid goodbye before assisting other people. I looked at Gilbert, and he just looked at me and at Max.

"I don't like where this is going."

**...**

**Rattles and Cradles**

**...**

I couldn't believe he suddenly acted like a proper adult and adopted an orphan child. It's not like I disagree with that- I would have probably done the same. The problem is that he's not the one paying for the child's sustenance.

I was just keeping those thoughts to myself as we walked along the almost empty streets of Milchreis. The city was closed down from the threat of a plague, and the only people who could leave are those who work outside the city- those who weren't laid off, that is. I held a high position in my company. Without me, they'll be having a hard time so they couldn't just kick me out.

Even though a lot were 'trapped' inside the city, only a few dared to walk around the city now. Every other establishment was closed; no more entertainment mall, or beer house, or pubs and clubs. The same goes for the people; no bystanders, pedestrians, or even over-time working adults. We're literally the only people walking around: me, Roddie and Max.

We're supposed to find a crib and grab some chow, but it was past six in the evening; most are already off-business in the new Milchreis. We could just go around and find a crib- or anything that we could make a crib out of it. About the chow, we should just do it at home; eating at home had been quite a practice anyway. The only establishment open were the department store and some convenient stores- somehow, we'll test our luck.

"I don't feel good walking in the baby section with you." Roddie muttered as soon as we got in the department store. I could only glare at him as I led them to the second storey where the section was. The mall was quite deserted already, but we still have the attendants to give us the weird looks. I then sighed to reply, "Who wants to walk in there with you, anyway? Well, aside from Eli."

Eli would certainly do that, but she's quite the irrelevant person at the moment.

We reached the section and looked around for anything a baby boy will need: the crib, some toys, some clothes, and food stuff. An attendant came to us and greeted us with a tired, kind smile, "Hi, would you like to buy a crib for, uh, your baby?"

"Ah, yes, please. But something with a different design. Do you have-?" Roddie dealt with the items; I'm too tired to actually criticize stuff right now. I would just look around the store some more, straying away from them about a shelf or two. I found myself in the mirror section, checking out some in the shelf. I raised one and tried to find Roddie and Max in my view- but I got to see something else.

There was a dark faded image by the shelf next to the one behind me. I couldn't tell what it was like, but I could feel eyes from that direction glaring towards me. I turned to the shelf where it should be, but nothing was there. I must be really tired now. Tired and scared. Anyway, I just brought the mirror down without looking at it again. I walked back to where Roddie and Max were, seeing some male attendants bring a disassembled crib to the two.

"I just thought the first one was too simple. This one looks better." Roddie said as the attendants started to assemble the crib. I crouched down to look at the parts as they assembled it. Roddie calls something 'simple' when it doesn't look expensive and elegant, and that reflected again in his crib choice. Some ornaments were gem-like- my image and the background poorly reflected on one.

I saw it again.

The mysterious dark figure was beside the shelf behind me again. I just had to look at where it was before double-checking the reflection. It wasn't there anymore, but I just have a feeling that we should leave now.

I got up and said okay to the crib, and they had it packed again. I just noticed Roddie was already sporting a cart filled with a lot of things. He would just say shit about why I have to buy those if I confronted him about them anyway. Besides, Max will hear us bicker- not good for a baby. He was neither from any of us, but it didn't seat well to fight in front of a poor baby.

All I could do was to check everything in the cart before we check those out. Everything cost half my pay check; guess who's going to murder a Roderich Edelstein out the child's sight. It was past seven when we reached home. The only food place open was a fast food chain, and no Roderich Edelstein eats in a fast food chain so we just went home- he should start matching his lifestyle with his financial status!

Anyway, Roddie was in charge of cooking while I set up the crib in the dining room for now. Max was there with me, seated on his brand-new kiddy chair facing my direction. He was not one to make a lot of sounds so I had to check up on him almost every five minutes. It didn't take me long before assembling it completely- plus the mattress and pillows that would be there with him.

"Okay, little guy, up you go~" I chuckled loudly as I pulled him off the kiddy chair and laid him down inside the crib. I then crouched down to pet him, getting low enough to get his face in my eye level. His blue eyes would just look back at me until he- well, for the first time today, he started laughing and giggling.

He looked so sweet and nice. I feel like my exhaustion was disappearing- heheh, well, Roddie isn't actually looking~

I couldn't contain myself. I gave in to the urge of carrying him in my arms and tried to play with him with a rattle that we bought back then, too. His small arms would reach out to hold the rattle; his laughter filled with joy. The fact that he was an orphan hit me again and made me sad. I hope that his smile wouldn't disappear after knowing what an orphan is.

I was having my moment with Max, and that was when I felt the same gaze I felt back in the department store. I flung my head towards the windows, but the curtain was drawn, making it impossible for me to see what's outside. Our flat was on the fourth storey- so maybe, just maybe, it's impossible to have someone creep by our window this late in the evening.

Trying to see outside, I walked towards the window to check it. But my body trembled in instinct, as if something was telling me not to look. Max stopped laughing as well; he might have felt that the tension winning over me. My hand took a hold of the curtain-

"GILBERT!"

"Fuck. What is it!?" I couldn't help but to curse out loud as Roddie called for me from the kitchen. I had to ignore the feeling and just walked to where he was. My annoyed look greeted him as I walked on him preparing the plates in the kitchen. He only frowned at me before asking, "Did you hit your hand against something?"

"Not really. Are you done yet?"

"Just some more minutes, and it's good to go." He would answer before giving us a second look, "Why are you carrying Max?" His gaze turned into a frown as I just stared back at him. It went worse when I just decided to grin before talking, "Nothing really. I just wanted to carry him. He's not yours so don't get all too possessive."

"Fine." Roddie just answered with a huff and continued fixing our dinner.

I walked towards the table and sat down at my seat. I continued cooing at Max as he kept on laughing and giggling. What a very happy fellow! I would be thankful to Roddie if only he's not Roddie to be honest. Soon plates were being laid in front of me, and Roddie looked at me as if ordering me to get the kiddy chair so we could all eat. (Of course, Max had to eat first.)

With that, I had him take Max after he completed setting the table and the food. I walked to where the chair was only to feel the gaze again from the window. This time, I walked to the window and moved the curtain to reveal the view outside. The streets were starting to whiten as the snow started to fall again. Aside from that, everything seemed to be doing fine.

"Gilbert? What are you looking at?"

"Nothing really." I just whispered before I slowly let the curtain slide down to cover the view. However, before it completely did, it seemed that someone just appeared from the neighbor's window. It was meters away from our flat, but I could see their window clearly from ours. I grabbed the curtain to show the view again to see our neighbor begging for help. But soon, he ran off to a direction where blood suddenly oozed from.

Another hand grabbed the curtain to cover the window. I turned to Roddie who was beside me and holding Max who was faced in the other direction. He then whispered, "Just call police. Don't go out there."

"Someone's murdering our neighbor-"

"And that someone could be at our doorstep soon. Imagine that happening when you're out there. You don't really care about me, but what about Max?"

"-I care about you enough to keep you alive."

But then again, he's right. I couldn't go out there. I just grabbed my phone and dialed the police hotline. It took me minutes before reconnecting, seeing Roddie check up on the neighbor from a different window- one that was not in the direct view of the window I looked at.

"Don't let them see you, Roddie." I whispered, and he just answered while trying to see more of the other house, "There are still people moving around in the house. I'm not sure how many burglars there are."

I'm supposed to answer back, but the call went through the line already.

_"Hello, Milchreis PD."_

"I'm reporting a burglary in progress at 56-"

"Gilbert!"

I was already talking to the officer when Roddie called me with a freakish voice. Hurrying over to him, I had him make me look at the neighbor's house. The whole second floor had its windows painted with something reddish. We didn't see anyone leave the house, but there were shadows speeding from the main door. They were shaped like humans, but they crept around instead of speed-walking or running.

One then stopped moving. By then, we saw that it had broader shoulders, longer arms, bigger hands and a shorter torso. It turned to our direction, and I instinctively pulled them away from the view of the window.

Our asses might have hurt because of that bad landing, but we could care less about the pain. None of us made a sound about what we just saw; we were just looking at each other with our confused, frightened eyes. What we saw wasn't human, and we both know it wasn't just our imagination.

_"H-Hello? You're reporting a burglary in progress at where?"_

The voice of the officer sounded louder from the phone, and we were left staring at each other for a while. Soon, Max started crying in Roddie's shoulder. I held the phone firmly again.

"I think our neighbors were murdered by monsters."

…

**End of Chapter 1**

…

Thank you for reading! Please review! My anon review is on. :D


	2. The Milchreis Plague

I should, like, change the title to **Klapper und Wiege**, but I don't trust my German. XD

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything from Hetalia: everything belongs to Hima-papa. Though I have some resources, none came from any story written in . Plot and dialogue are mein wassermelone!

**Warnings**: Gore, horror, strong language and some scary shit that could discourage people. Some hints of shounen-ai, I think. I also need to constantly remind you guys of jumping POVs.

**...**

**Rattles and Cradle**

**...**

It was supposed to be a field day of a city named Milchreis where a plague mysteriously shrouded weeks ago. There lived Roderich Edelstein and Gilbert Beilschmidt who decided to take in a baby they named Max.

Upon assuming that his parents are indeed dead, Roderich and Gilbert went to the department store to pick up some things they will need to take of a baby- and for Gilbert to see a weird shadow lurking behind the shelves.

Soon, they arrived home to eat dinner. The night seemed to stretch longer as they bore witness to a very terrible and strange crime that happened next door- just when they saw the monstrous figure that killed the neighbors.

Despite the experience, will the police believe them? What will they learn from this strange case?

**...**

**Rattles and Cradle**

**...**

Ten minutes had passed since Gilbert made the call to the police. We were told that they will come here as fast as they could, and that we should keep an eye to the house. Gilbert was peering from the window the whole time, and I was seated here to feed Max.

He was old enough to eat baby food and old enough not to hate the veggie-flavored one. He was eating peacefully in our relief, but the tension still hadn't broken up yet.

The door buzzer went off thrice before we heard a male voice called for Gilbert. He then hurried to the door and cautiously opened it for the police officers. He let them in and towards the lounge which was joined with the dining room. I was pretty sure that they could see me and the baby from there- since the lady officer reacted differently upon seeing the baby.

"A-A A baby! You have a baby!"

Everyone was silent; none of us knew why the lady officer- wait!

"Sorry for the confusion, officer, but he isn't ours. He's not our baby, and we're not a couple." I spoke in monotone, and then Gilbert pressed his palm against his face, "Eli, of all the things- anyway, we should talk about the- the neighbor's house."

"Eli? Elizabeta? Sorry, I didn't recognize you."

Elizabeta, or Eli as how Gilbert calls her, was a friend back in high school. She and Gilbert would always end up bickering louder and more frequently than Gilbert and I did, and she would always be teased as his girlfriend. But some people did say that she was head over heels in love with me- which was more credible than the first assumption. But then again, I never thought she would join the police after hearing that she wanted to be a fashion designer when she grew up.

"I can understand, Roderich. I was just surprised. Why would you want to have a baby with this jerk anyway? Setting that aside, we had operatives investigating the house now. Why did you guys see? What do you mean by- monsters?"

…

**Rattles and Cradle**

**Rei Haruno- Sakura no Imooto**

**Chapter 2: The Milchreis Plague**

…

I caught Gilbert frown first before getting serious with Elizabeta's real questions. She did apologize first to me before getting all rude towards Gilbert and then professional to the two of us. Sometimes, Elizabeta is quite a hard thing to understand.

"Okay, we were about to eat dinner when I felt something was wrong. I walked to the window and checked it- then Mr. Heinz started slamming on his window for help. He then ran off, and then blood came out." Gilbert started narrating to Elizabeta while the other man was inspecting the view from our windows.

"You saw a man beg for help. Why didn't you go to him? (That's so not like you.)" Elizabeta asked which was answered by Gilbert after a hum, "Well, I would, but Roddie said I had to stay here because whoever did that might hit our flat, and I won't be here to protect him and Max (-the baby; we call him Max). I just called the police, and then Roddie saw red paint covering the windows, and some _**things**_ running out the door."

Gilbert then sighed and whispered before proceeding, "You might not believe me, but we knew what we saw was real. The running things were like human-shaped shadow-colored monsters- they have these big hands, broader shoulders, longer legs and shorter torsos! One stopped running; that's how we saw one of them."

"Like this?" Elizabeta seemed to draw something on her notebook which she showed Gilbert. Gilbert-

"A word, mother?" The other officer tapped me, and I had to take my attention off the other two. I faced him, but he called me away from the child. I had to ask a moment from Max before getting up to talk to him.

"Is there something wrong, officer?"

"That kid? Where did you get him?"

It was indeed suspicious for him to ask, but I had to entertain him anyway.

"I saw him walking- well, crawling- along the streets when I opened the door this afternoon. Was someone looking for him?"

However, he would just shake his head and dismiss the matter. I walked back to Max who was looking straight at the male officer. I sat down next to him and prepared for a next spoonful of his baby food, "Max, don't worry, it's nothing really." Max would look back at me before eating again.

"Hey, Roddie!" I heard Gilbert call me, and he was already in front of us when I lifted my face to look at him. He said in a serious tone, "They're going to the house; want to see what happened?"

…

**Rattles and Cradle**

…

I don't know if it was some sort of a prank call, but our hotline attendants reported about a man that witnessed a murder done by monsters. It may not be actually monsters, but it was still a murder.

I was about to sign out for the day the time we received that call. My partner- Det. Pfeife- and I came to answer it, adding more hours in my service time. It was already past eight in the evening when it happened, and somehow, I just wanted to make this one quick.

But it was a murder- witnessed by my friends, Gilbert and Roderich. They said they saw monsters carrying out the murder, but they never really had a clear view of the act, just how they got away from the house. Of course, we had to investigate this one thoroughly- no one knew that was the thing happening all along.

The Milchreis plague was never a plague. It was a series of killings that happened around the whole city. To contain panic and the remaining crowd, it was called a disease. But it was never like that.

Now, I'm scared they will indeed hit my friends' house next.

We were standing in front of house, inspecting the front door and how they fled like how my friends said so. Also, we saw personnel loading four bodies in a car to bring them to the coroner. Gilbert was the only one who was close enough to see the blood blotting on the cloth over them while Roderich had to distance himself because it's something a baby shouldn't see.

"I thought you're doing runways; why are you here doing police stuff?" Gilbert suddenly asked as we waited for Det. Pfeife's return from inside. I only hummed before answering, "People from the university I graduated from were recruiting for police volunteers. The police force was too small now to actually support Milchreis, the new crime capital. My work hours were cut down to- uhh, none so I get to be a volunteer for now."

"I'm kind of scared for my own work now." He sighed and just looked at the window where we could see silhouettes of other investigators, "You think you can catch whatever was doing these? This case is quite the shocker." He said so as he looked behind us- at those onlookers and other concerned neighbors; all were wearing face masks as if to avoid inhaling air from the plague's crime scene.

"That's the thing. They will never know about this. Please don't discuss about the monsters with other people." I whispered to him, which made him turn to me again. He then growled softly and looked back at where the front door was. Det. Pfeife still wasn't on sight.

Roderich came to us, more likely talking to Gilbert alone, "Can we go back now? Max is starting to feel sick." However, he then smiled at me kindly, "Good luck on your job, Elizabeta. After this, you could drop by our flat. It's been a really long while since we last talked to each other."

"Sure." That was all I could answer. I would want to talk to him immediately, but I have a job to do.

From this distance, I watched them walk back to their flat at the fourth floor of the house next to the one we were investigating. The house looked rundown and poor- no CCTVs were installed, the paint was breaking, and the gate was already rusted. But inside was beautiful; or more like, Gilbert and Roderich's flat was the only beautiful place in there.

That made me happy because those murderers never hit such an ugly place before. They wouldn't hit an ugly place like that ever.

…

**Rattles and Cradle**

…

It was peaceful, yet there was this eerie feeling somewhere. I was just rousing from my sleep, and I already feel restrained around my neck. It felt like something was holding me down by the neck. It felt like a thick cloth, and it could have been the blanket. I reached out to take it off so I could breathe properly.

But there was nothing there.

Nothing was holding me down by the neck, but there was this pressure of being slowly strangled. I tried to open my eyes, but I couldn't. I tried to make a sound, but I couldn't. If this was a nightmare, please let it end!

My limbs began to move around to feel anything that could be strangling me. But there was nothing I could feel. Nothing I could take off. Nothing I could use to make it stop. I start to feel like something was covering my head, but I couldn't get it off. All I could do was to get scared and aimlessly fling my limbs around: my heels were banging against the bed, and my arms were either scratching my neck or hitting things nearby.

Moreover, there were voices: whispers echoing and ringing inside my head. I didn't understand what they say, but I knew they were trying to scare me. Multiple voices whisper in my head while something I couldn't touch was trying to kill me. I want it to end. Please just make it end!

I felt like I was dying: no one was there to save me. Tears started to drip from my eyes as I felt my air running low. I was suffocating; my throat was slowly and forcefully being crushed by something I couldn't stop or feel at least. What's happening!? What's killing me!?

Snap!

Pain suddenly flamed from the right side of my face. There was like a snap of a finger, and the whispers and the cloth-like thing were gone. I was able to shoot my eyes open and breathe normally after that. What was holding me down by the neck disappeared, but I now felt someone sitting on me as if stopping my legs from jerking too much. I lied on my bed for a while as I catch my breath and hear someone speak.

Finally, I wiped my eyes from all the tears. I could make out the figure above me as a person, but my room suddenly went really dark for me to see who it was. They seemed to move down to reach for something on the floor, and soon, flashed a smartphone to light the room poorly.

"Hey, Roddie. Are you alright?"

"-Gilbert?"

"I-I heard Max crying. What's happening to you?"

Max was crying? I couldn't hear very well at the moment; his voice was actually next to inaudible, but I could understand what he was saying. Soon, he helped me up before getting off and flicking the light switch on. I made a big mess in my room because everything on my table was on the floor now. Max's crib, which we moved to my bedroom earlier, was untouched though- and Max was leaning against its wall as if gawking to see what happened to me.

Gilbert sat down next to me again and asked with an annoyed but worried tone, "Are you having some kind of nightmare? Want to sleep with the lights on?" Even though I wanted to be surprised, I decided not to react much. I just wanted to forget what happened earlier. I couldn't tell Gilbert that.

And Max's stare was terrifying me at the moment.

…

**Rattles and Cradle**

…

Ten minutes past eleven, and I couldn't really sleep much. Roddie was sleeping with lights on after that Scheisse that happened earlier. First was the murder those monsters did, and now this. I couldn't actually imagine that there would be one day that I would doubt the things I see.

Four cans down, and I was starting to feel sleepy. I was softly growling in annoyance because beer couldn't make me forget what I actually saw. I couldn't tell that to Roddie- shithead would panic real bad.

It wasn't true that I heard Max cry, but I did hear the breaking sounds coming from his room. I did run there to see what was happening- only to see his curtains drawn and a fucking shadow monster dancing like a fucking tree on a fucking windy day outside. I didn't know if it killed the Heinz that way, but I was pretty sure it was killing Roddie in some sort of a nightmare.

"Gi! Gi! Gi!"

A sound came from the brighter side of the lounge where the crib was. I rolled it out of Roddie's room since Max wouldn't be able to sleep- oh fuck that. I rolled him out of there because this little fucker scared the living shit out of me. He wasn't crying when the shadow was dancing. He was just standing there staring at Roddie- and it continued all after that. I didn't like him close to me for now, but I couldn't leave him with Roddie either.

"What is it? Want some beer? This shit is so tasty." I could only chuckle and raise a can towards him. But he kept on making a sound as if trying to say my name. I brought the can down and looked behind me to see nothing and then back to him. I drank the fifth can empty and decided to go to him.

I got him in my arms, and he started pressing himself against my chest. He seemed to be relieved with his weak grip on my shirt. For the next seconds, I couldn't keep myself from being crept out by the baby anymore. I had this feeling that I was just over thinking because of what I saw.

I went back to the table with Max in my arms. Since one arm was enough to hold him, I used the other to continue drinking. It didn't seat well to me- I really need more beer. The alcohol was starting to kick in after the tenth can, and I feel sleep catching up to me. It was the time to stop, but I wasn't in the condition to actually clean up. I just left the table with Max still in my arm, wobbling along the way as I walked somewhere.

I didn't really pay attention to where I was walking until I laid Max down on the bed. I crashed next to him as I felt my body retiring before my mind did. I would have flicked the switch off, but it would only scare me. I just slept where I was.

I'd clean the cans and table tomorrow. I just wanted this night to end.

My eyes closed, and my consciousness was starting to drift. However, I started to hear the door creaking open. It was slow and long, and somehow, the wind could actually swing the door open.

But fuck that, there was no wind in a flat with sealed windows. I opened my eyes groggily as if just trying to see if it was our door that opened, or if a door actually opened. From my view, I could see the door still closed. I closed my eyes, thinking that it was the alcohol.

Soon, another door creaked open- only having a louder sound. But since I only imagined the first one, I tend to ignore the next one. But things changed when I started hearing voices- whispers that I couldn't make out. One eye forced its way to open, only to regret what I saw.

It was the shadow monster, and it was standing next to the bed, peering down at us.

My body trembled, my other eyes ripping open as well. But it stayed; if anything, it lunged nearer, making a terrible sound like a person trying to gag. That was when I grabbed my pillow and hit it with it. But I didn't hit anything.

The whispers disappeared along with the shadow monster. But those didn't take my fear with them. I sat up from bed and scooted to put my back against the headboard. I held the pillow tightly in my arms against my chest before I pulled my knees against it. Trust me, I'm not going to get any sleep tonight.

…

**End of Chapter 2**

…

Thanks for reading! Please review! My anon review is on.


	3. Common Denominator

I was actually starting to creep myself out with my own stories. I usually gawk around when writing one and walk around to de-scare myself. Hahah.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything from Hetalia: everything belongs to Hima-papa. Though I have some resources, none came from any story written in . Plot and dialogue are mein wassermelone!

**Warnings**: Gore, horror, strong language and some scary shit that could discourage people. Some hints of shounen-ai, I think. I also need to constantly remind you guys of jumping POVs.

**...**

**Rattles and Cradle**

**...**

The police came, and their statements were taken by the officers that took care of the case from their hands. Surprisingly, one of these officers was a volunteer named Elizabeta Hedervary which happened to be their friend.

Along with secrets of the Milchreis plague, Elizabeta seemed to hide this relief that such a phenomenon wouldn't happen in her friends' house- which was soon contradicted by their late night experience.

Roderich was almost killed in a pseudo-nightmare by a shadow monster outside their window, and Gilbert found this monster now lurking inside the very room, making him most anxious that he had ever been.

The next day struck, what will the three friends see waiting for them up ahead? When will this end?

…

**Rattles and Cradle**

…

A familiar stench of beer roused me from my sleep this time, instead of a strangling feeling. Also, I could feel a small warm body pressed against my back that morning. My eyes opened and noticed that the door was open halfway. Then my gaze flew to the clock which registered fifteen minutes past eight.

"Gilbert must have left at this hour." I murmured as I slowly sat up from where I was lying down. However, I noticed someone was seated nearby the headboard. They wouldn't move, and they seemed to be so stiff. I finally convinced myself to take a look, only to see Gilbert instead. His eyes were reddened, and there were bags beneath them. He was also pale and frozen.

I was about to talk to him when I noticed that even Max was in my bed. He was sleeping soundly though. I just smiled a bit and stroked at his small face before moving slowly to get closer to Gilbert.

"What are you doing, Gilbert? Did you even sleep?"

I spoke in a confused yet ridiculing tone, but all he answered was these words, "Hi, Roddie. Yeah, I didn't sleep. I couldn't. I couldn't even close my eyes even for a minute."

"Why? Did something happen? Well, after I fell asleep again?"

He stayed silent before moving to press his face against the pillow. Soon, he crashed towards the side which was actually towards me. I had no choice but to catch him, feeling awkward since it was the very first time he even leaned on me. However, it shouldn't be a moment I should ridicule. Gilbert went through something last night, and somehow, I should help him because he helped me last night.

Even though I had no idea if I want to actually hear it.

…

**Rattles and Cradle**

**Rei Haruno- Sakura no Imooto**

**Chapter 3: Common Denominator**

…

The strong sound of running water conquered the sound of heating oil in the pan. I was preparing breakfast in the kitchen, and even though I told him not to get up already, Gilbert insisted on following me and taking Max with us. He wasn't the creature to leave his bed hair on, but there he was on the kitchen isle counter, looking like a looker assaulted by a thousand cougars.

"You should just sleep for now. I could wake you up in the next hour." I spoke to him from the sink as I wash what I need for the morning pancakes. He wouldn't actually respond; all he did was to roll Max's stroller back and forth, back and forth, and then back and forth. I walked to him and petted his head, "Come on, Gilbert. Let the cat out."

"You- wouldn't want to hear it."

"Well, it's better than having a zombie in the same table in a bit."

"The shadow monster. It was here last night. It came to your room. It looked down at us. I tried to hit it, but it disappeared. I saw it lurking behind everything. One moment- we could be all dead."

I could say I froze at what he said. Was it true that Gilbert kept himself awake just to stop the shadow from killing us? If I remember it right, the Heinz were wide awake during the slaughter. How was that even possible? Was it really because of Gilbert?

"A-At any rate, you're making Max dizzy." I could only take the stroller's handle from his hand and place the stroller a bit out of his reach. He would just slump at the kitchen counter and wait for his favorite breakfast. He was feeling too easy to stay home today since the Apfel City Line was temporarily closed.

Fifteen minutes more before I started serving the breakfast. I let the pancakes cool in front of him as I went to the cupboard to get the maple syrup. However, I felt really different when my hand touched the handle. I recalled my hand, but I decided to open it anyway after seconds. I practically grabbed the syrup bottle before closing the cupboard swiftly. Placing the bottle near the plates of pancakes, I started preparing the baby food for Max.

Soon, I heard the fork clinking against the Chinaware. A smile simply broke out of my lips in relief, "It's good that you're eating energetically now."

"I'm not yet eating."

For a moment, I froze. I could still hear the fork clinking against the plate so I asked him, still having my back turned on the counter, "Then who's eating?" Gilbert then answered me, "I'm not looking."

I had no choice but to turn. No one was actually there on the counter with Gilbert, but the forks were not where I left them. The pancakes were left untouched, but the syrup bottle was knocked off from the table was already on the floor. I went to pick it up and place it back to the counter, "Feel like walking outside after breakfast?"

Gilbert lifted his face and straightened, "Sure. I would love to."

I then walked to the sink to get the prepared food, and then to Max to roll his stroller near the table. I picked him up and made him sit on my lap after sitting at a high stool. I started feeding him as Gilbert started eating the pancakes. As much as we wanted, we kept our eyes only at one another, ignoring any other noises that echoed in the entire flat.

Soon, we finished, cleaned up, and changed. With Max in his stroller again, we got out of the flat. Gilbert locked the front door while whispering, "Let's get the fuck out of this place."

…

**Rattle and Cradle**

…

Unlike earlier, Gilbert was more presentable while he was manning the stroller. The weather seemed to be colder than usual, but there was no snow falling from the sky. The three of us wore thicker clothing, and walking around on our own made the place colder.

The Apfel City Line was temporarily closed because it broke down in a station en route Station 9, the only active station in Milchreis after having Station 7 and 10 closed last night. People feared that the plague made the train stop, but that was ridiculous. However, if that was the shadow creatures, then that would be another story. Everyone should be home today, but none dared to walk around but us.

It's not like we can stay in our home today after all. The shadow creatures were in there. We might actually stay outside the whole day, just for us to feel comfortable. We didn't bring anything necessary for a day-out, only things Max will need; we just wanted to get out of there as long as we could. Getting outside the 'haunted' flat seemed to be giving the enthusiasm that we both lost.

We stopped by a park in Milchreis, and we had Max on my lap while I play with him. Gilbert was practically leaning against the bench to sleep until his phone started ringing. He gave me a tap as a gesture before walking off at a distance to answer the call. He stayed in view, making me catch his confused body reactions. He then walked towards me, "I- I have something to tell you. It's about my job, don't worry."

He then sat down and leaned against the bench again, "My boss said that the City Line won't be stopping by Station 9 anymore. The maintenance was just a story to keep the people from panicking and doing stupid shit. As long as all stations were closed, I would be in a paid vacation for only ten days. I would lose the pay after that. I get to keep my position, but I wouldn't earn anything."

"Ten days, huh." I answered, still trying to coo with Max, "I guess we should find a way to get out of Milchreis in ten days. This plague was here for weeks. I doubt it'll go away for the next ten days."

"Yeah, we better should." He then growled as he scratched his head in frustration, "And why do I get to talk to you like you're my fucking wife!? We even have a child with us!"

"Watch your words. Max can hear you."

"Looks like I spied on a lovely couple!"

We then twitched as we saw an old woman standing in front of us. The fool and I exchanged looks first before looking at her again, Gilbert doing the talking, "Ah, we're not a couple. But I'm surprised someone was out here as well." He then chuckled as I scooted closer to him since the old woman wanted to share the bench with us, "Almost felt like we're the only ones alive in this city."

"Ah. Everyone was so scared of the plague. It wasn't airborne, but it kept on jumping from a neighbor's house to another. If my neighbors were killed, for sure I would be next." The old woman chuckled lightly which made us wonder. She read the look on our faces so she continued, "There was something about the houses where the plague was. The deaths weren't random; the plague didn't really stay on one place longer than hours. One family dead in the morning, and another one would die in the evening. Ah, the Heinz were the last victims, weren't they? Ah, how I fear for their neighbors. Being slaughtered like pigs in their own homes."

"You're saying that the plague was going from one house to another?" I asked, holding Max firmer as he started to cling towards me in fear. Gilbert noticed my action so he just laughed, "A plague is a plague, Granny. If you'll excuse us. Let's go, Roddie." He grabbed my arm and pulled me up and away from the old woman.

"That's a bit rude."

"I know, but I don't want to listen to her anymore. I don't want to think about those stupid shadow monsters right now. They could be the ones jumping from one house to another. They could be the ones causing the plague." Gilbert then stopped pulling on me and rolling the stroller, "And no one's going to know because we will be dead even before we could prove that."

I just stared at him and then at Max, "I don't want Max to get killed. We should give him to Elizabeta; he'll be much safer with the police."

Gilbert only scratched his head and sighed, weakly stroking at the baby's face, "I guess you're right."

…

**Rattles and Cradle**

…

It was yet another cold day, one colder than the rest to be honest. We're still on the case of the Heinz, but my partner decided to go to the witnesses of the other plague cases. No one had ever seen the murderers for these plague-disguised serial killings but Gilbert and Roderich. I wonder what he needed from the other witnesses.

We reached the home of the witness from the block where three families where hit. The place had never been so quiet since the killings happened. Det. Pfeife would press the buzzer, and then a middle-aged woman came out to see us. We were led towards her lounge, and there we would discuss our business.

"I know you've already given your testimony to the police before, Ms. Strausse, but I need to confirm something." He then brought out a folder and opened it for the woman to see. She then took it and stared at it longer. Her confused gaze made Det. Pfeife speak, "Have you ever seen this child somewhere?"

The child? Does he mean Max?

"-Y-Yes, detective. The Kleids picked him up from the park and gave him to the station before they were murdered. Did something happen to this baby boy?" She worried asked. However, Det. Pfeife only said that his parents were found, and they were looking for the baby boy they lost.

It's good that his parents were found now, but I think those two won't be happy about it. They seemed to be so fond of Max.

We went to another house in another block. The same questions and gestures were spoken; however, we got a negative answer. And it seemed that all other witnesses were being asked by the same thing. Not everyone said that they knew of Max, not everyone said that the murdered family tried to give Max to the police, and not everyone said something good about a treatment of the families to Max. The last of the witnesses was interviewed, and it seemed that we were never given- wait.

"Det. Pfeife, why are we asking them for Max's location? Gilbert and Roderich still had him, right?" I asked him as we got inside the patrol car.

"I know, Elizabeta, but I don't think it was all a coincidence. Not everyone saw the child, but most of them said the families who were murdered either gave the baby to the police or drove him away even though he's a lone baby. The security footages in the attacked office showed that a worker brought him there because she found him on her way to work. I really think this baby is connected to these in a way."

"How? Does that mean Gilbert and Roderich are in danger?"

"We only have one way to find out."

I don't want them to get killed next, but I could only shut up about everything. Pandemonium would happen if the plague turned out to be serial killings in the eyes of the public. This was too risky to actually warn my friends about it. The walls have ears. I could only pray until we reached the station and try to check up on them again.

The ride from the last house to the station and then towards Gilbert and Roderich's flat was a very smooth one. However, no one was coming to the door no matter how any times we pressed the buzzer. We could just turn ourselves around and accept that they were not home, but they were potential victims, and we couldn't risk leaving it. Soon, we just decided to get in with the permission of the landlady. What welcomed us was alarming.

Everything in the house was wrecked. The place was turned upside-down; every corner was searched recklessly. Even the lights were busted; we could only see things because of the light from outside and from our flashlights.

Det. Pfeife brought out his gun, and we took a look around, looking for the culprits and my friends. However, there was no one in there: no person, no bodies- nothing. Our guards went down, and Det. Pfeife suddenly tried to phone other units if they found the two. However, something else happened.

"Do you- do you hear that, Det. Pfeife? The voices."

"What language are they speaking with?"

There were voices, and they were so soft to understand. We stuck close to each other as the voices grew louder and closer. Soon, the doors started creaking as if something was coming towards us. Our backs touched each other's, and then I whispered, "Are these the murderers?"

Silence. I didn't hear the detective answer me. Perhaps he didn't hear me speak. I tried to talk again in a louder voice as the whispers began to sound more concrete yet still not understandable, but I suddenly smelled blood from somewhere; it was so strong to be at a distance.

"Det. Pfeife, do you smell that?"

Still no answer.

"Det. Pfeife?"

Soon, I started hearing weird low sounds- as if someone was trying to vomit. I then turned to Det. Pfeife in terror, only for me to see something before him. My body trembled at what I saw.

It was the shadow monster that Gilbert was talking about. It was standing before Det. Pfeife, and- no. Its hand was buried in my partner's face, and it was looking at me now. I quickly backed off, watching the detective's body fall down lifelessly on the floor. My hand shot to my mouth in pure terror as the shadow monster started walking towards me. I could only cry for a while, "Det. Pfeife-"

It kept on making the gagging sounds as it moved slowly. Maybe I could outrun it- and I will!

With enough resolve, I took off as fast as I could, but I saw him coming out from all the dark places of the house. The lights were busted for a reason, and that reason was that I, or anyone that would come in, would be trapped in darkness. It appeared everywhere I looked; almost everywhere that I felt so helpless.

I got to the door, but it wasn't opening up. It's like what happened to the Heinz. They were all trapped like rats and massacred like pigs in a slaughterhouse. Tears started clouding my eyes as I forced the door to open, but I couldn't. I stood there helplessly until I heard the voices concrete and the gagging noises just behind me.

I knew I was dead the moment I move. However, whether I do so or not, I would still be killed. My body just gave up, and my arms swung off the knob of the door. I just started to sob loudly.

That was my last memory before I felt myself flying. Ah, I'm really stupid. I wasn't flying; I was falling down. Perhaps from the fourth floor where the flat was. I saw the beautiful sky for a matter of seconds before I felt my body slammed and my skull cracked against the streets' concrete pavement.

…

**End of the Chapter 3**

…

Thanks for reading! Please review! My anon review is on. :D (Needless to say, I suffered from a frying pan attack.)


	4. Maximillian Edelstein pt 1

I must admit, I kind of stole the name idea from a Facebook page so I must credit them here. It was a page called **APH Holy Roman Empire** that decided to name Holy Rome as Maximilian. Yes, the baby was Holy Rome. Hahah, his full name was not the one I would be using in here though. And I kind of researched a bit about the name; it belonged to a brother of an Austrian emperor of Mexico.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything from Hetalia: everything belongs to Hima-papa. Though I have some resources, none came from any story written in . Plot and dialogue are mein wassermelone!

**Warnings**: Gore, horror, strong language and some scary shit that could discourage people. Some hints of shounen-ai, I think. I also need to constantly remind you guys of jumping POVs.

**...**

**Rattles and Cradle**

**...**

Morning came, and Roderich found Gilbert and Max in his bed. Even disturbed by Gilbert's behavior, Roderich managed to hold him until they decide to go out for the day- ending up with them trying the station again.

Elizabeta, on the other hand, went investigating with her partner about the connection of this baby boy called Max. They seemed to find suspicious facts about the baby, but nothing concrete about his involvement.

Soon, they decided to go to meet her friends and discuss matters about the child. However, they were met by another being which led to casualties that would strike the people of that block.

With the shadow creatures after them, how would Roderich and Gilbert survive the incoming night?

…

**Rattles and Cradle**

…

It was already past three in the afternoon, and we had enjoyed most of the facilities here in the hotel. Gilbert and I ended up staying in a hotel for the night to avoid the shadow creatures. We didn't even know if staying somewhere else would help us, but at least we did something about it. The room was actually smaller than the space we had in the flat, but it was better because we need to stay close together.

In just one night, everything had changed. Our supposedly normal, mundane lives turned into a living nightmare, and we had to go through this with a child that I picked up from the streets. I could remember that time when I saw him walking along the concrete pavement. He was wobbling like a walking baby would, and he was looking around as if lost in such an empty city. I couldn't ignore him.

Even until now, I couldn't do that. I was seated on the double bed of the room, holding Max in my arms. Gilbert was on the other side, trying to play a game on his portable console. It's been a while since he last brought that out- if two days ago was actually a long while.

I lied down the bed next to him, with Max on my stomach. Gilbert glanced at me before talking, "You should remove your glasses if you want to sleep. And lay him down, too." As if understanding what he wanted to say, Max started to crawl off my stomach and to the gap between me and Gilbert. The fool seemed to pause his game as he started to coo with the baby for a while before Max fell asleep again.

"Where'd you get Max anyway? I mean his name."

"Maximilian. But that's too long for a baby."

"Maximilian, huh. That's a really good name." I could hear him smirk with that remark.

I took off my glasses and laid them at the nightstand. I also ran my hand along my hair before rolling to see Max and Gilbert, only to start stroking at the baby's hair, "Are you sure you want to wait till sundown?"

"We're giving him away. Might as well spend some more time with him first." He murmured as he switched the console off and laid it on the nightstand on his side. He then shifted and rolled to see me and Max, "Why do we really have to meet him at a time like this?"

"Are you crying?"

"I'm not." He just closed his eyes, took the pillow under his head and covered his face with it. I then just lied on my back again, staring straight at the ceiling. I could feel exhaustion building, and I just wanted to sleep as well. It was just three in the afternoon; we might still have more time with Max later.

If that thing after us wouldn't come around this early, that is.

…

**Rattles and Cradle**

**Rei Haruno- Sakura no Imooto**

**Chapter 4: Maximilian Edelstein pt. 1**

…

I felt my eyes open again as I seemed to wake up from the nap. My gaze went straight to the clock in my eyeshot; fifteen minutes past four didn't seem to be long enough. I lifted my body a bit, only to realize that Max was clinging at me again. A look at where Gilbert was came after, and somehow, it was surprising.

I'd never seen his sleeping face before, and it's surprising it was so peaceful. He was softly snoring and looked so oblivious. His lips were parted a bit, and his grip on the lowered pillow was weak. I would prefer this face of his rather than what I normally see: a peaceful-looking looker.

Slowly rolling to my side, I went to stare at him. I was surprised with myself for taking an interest at this imbecile even just for one moment. I would reach out to stroke at his hair, at those stray bangs on his face. The gap between us was so small to stop me from getting closer. Really close. My hand ran from his forehead to his nape, fingers feeling the shape of his head.

His warm breath brushed against my face, and his hand would move to caress the pillow instead. I then slowly took the pillow away so I could get closer. He softly moaned once in his sleep. Soon, I found my forehead against his, but I still didn't know what I really wanted to do.

Saying that I just move without thinking wouldn't be an acceptable reason to him.

I just closed my eyes, not minding what could happen if he wakes up any time soon. It was four in the afternoon; we still had time. We still had time- voices. The whispers- they're back.

Panic came to me as I shot up to look around. Everything was the same, but there was a faint sound of whispers ringing in my ears. I could hear my own heart pounding louder- and louder. Soon, the incomprehensible whispers were as loud as my own heartbeat, and the door began to move slowly.

"Gilbert?" I flung to Gilbert and tried to wake him up, "Hey, Gilbert, wake up!" But he wouldn't. His breathing was the only assurance I had that he was still alive. Max was also awake now; his blue orbs staring straight at me with curiosity. I wrapped my arms around Max before looking at where the door was.

It was already open. Whatever was making the whispers was already inside the room.

I then looked at Gilbert who was still sleeping heavily next to me. A low gagging sound came from behind me, and I knew something was already behind me. My eyes would close, and wait for it- continuing to listen to that low gagging sound. I felt coldness brush against my back, and that something seemed to loom before me.

"Ro!" I heard Max starting to call me as he gripped on my shirt and pulled on it. His movements seemed scared and alarmed, but I was too scared to see why. He kept on doing so; his actions becoming more and more desperate. That was when I decided to open my eyes slowly- only to find the shadow monster's face centimeters before mine.

It didn't have eyes, or nose, or mouth; it was only a ball of shadow trying to get as close as it could get to my face. However, three white lines drew on its face- only to slit open to reveal its reddened eyes and sharp-toothed mouth. That was when I lost it.

I screamed so loud and jerked backwards to end up falling to the floor. With Max still in my arms, I rolled away from the bed and fearfully scooted to the wall behind me. With my back flattened against the wall, I sobbed and stared at the horrendous creature before me. It crept down the bed like a flowing cloth and went nearer towards me; its mouth ripping wider and wider.

I tried to move, but my body was trembling hard enough to move. The fear had paralyzed me already, and there was nothing I could do. Its face was already brushing against my nose, and the darkness seemed to start eating my face up.

"Gi- Gil- Gilbert!"

…

**Rattles and Cradle**

…

I heard Roddie's voice cracked from quite a distance, and my eyes opened to see neither a Roddie in front of me, nor a Max a bit lower. However, I noticed someone was seated on the floor against the wall. I got up from the bed to take a look, only to see Roddie holding Max tightly- face covered in tears. He also looked panic-stricken and shocked.

"Roddie?" I called once before deciding to walk towards him. He wasn't responding to me, and it was already alarming. Kneeling in front of him, I shook him to wake him up, but all he did was to stare straight ahead as if he didn't see me right there. I then looked down on Max who was whimpering the whole time. I took him from Roddie's hold and rocked him to calmness, "It's alright now, Max. It's alright."

Getting up to get to the stroller at the side, I went to put the baby in there for a moment while I deal with Roddie. I went back to him, and tried shaking him harder, "Hey! Roddie! Roddie!" He wasn't responsive, and his face was the most pitiful thing I've ever seen. I didn't know what happened- why didn't I wake up sooner?

I just knelt there between his half-stretched legs. The markings on the floor made it appear like he kicked forcefully to slide to where he was now. But he didn't violently struggle- the monsters must have paralyzed him somehow. My gaze then flew to the open door and other things in the room, seeing no more traces of the shadow creature if ever it went there or not.

Giving my attention back to Roddie, I just cleared his face from the tears that stained it. His eyes were reddened and swollen from crying. He looked way worse than I might have appeared earlier.

I held his face with both of my hands and called, "Roddie? I know you're in there somewhere. Everything's alright now. Please, wake up. You're safe now. Hey." Soon, I had to tap my hand against his cheek, but I still wouldn't get a response. I was starting to lose options- and it was getting harder since Max was trying to peeking from his stroller. Those scary eyes were on us again.

Shifting from my position, I reached out to pull the stroller nearer so I could turn it around, "Sorry, Max. Just stay there." After doing so, I took a deep breath and whispered, "I will do _that_ if you wouldn't wake up with a slap. Ya hear me, Roddie, just doing this to wake you up."

And so I did. I slapped him, but it didn't do much. It only reddened his cheek. I tried waiting for another while for him to respond, but there was nothing. Down to some kind of very bad option, I just held his shoulders and stared at his helpless face. He could be looking like this longer than what I think, and I didn't even know near that creature got towards him.

"I'm sorry, Roddie."

I had to. This was the last action I could do to wake him up. Kissing him wouldn't be that bad, I think- considering that it would be all for pulling him back to Earth.

Our lips were sealed now, and I could just occasionally try to make out with a very irresponsible person. I had to keep on doing this until- wait, his breath just- did he just moan? Soon, I felt his hands hold my arms, making me pull back to see him hang his head down. He began to breathe loudly and heavily. His grip on my arms tightened as he started to speak with words I couldn't understand. Until he whispered loud enough, "Gilbert, we need to talk. It's very important."

I tried to answer, but he just pushed me off and dragged me outside the room, so fast I couldn't take Max with us. We just stayed outside, and Roddie closed the door. I tried to open it and get to Max, but he stopped me by grabbing my shoulders, "Gilbert, listen to me."

"What happened earlier? Did the shadow-?"

"The shadow creature came, and it attacked me. I didn't know what it wanted to do, but it felt like it wanted to go inside me. But it suddenly stopped and pulled back- before I knew it, Max was staring at it intently. It was trying to get near me again, but it couldn't- not after Max was looking at it. Then- then Max just clung at me. Soon, I kind of blacked out while staring at that thing inches away from me."

"Roddie-"

"No, it was trying to touch me again, but it couldn't. I- I think it could have killed me if Max wasn't with me. Those things. They can't touch us because of Max."

"You think Max- protects us?"

"Not really. I think they haunt people who get near him- and kill them when he's gone."

"We shouldn't give him away then."

He would just nod at me and crash to my shoulder. He was still weak from the shock, but he was already restless. All I could do was to hold him firmly until he felt much better. It's a bit awkward and hard for me to do, but I just needed to. He's breaking down, and I had to help him.

"Sorry for interrupting, but can we talk to you?"

A voice suddenly echoed in the hallway, and I flung my gaze to two police officers that were standing from the corner of the staircase. Roddie pulled back as well and asked them, "What can we do for you, officers?"

"You are- Roderich Edelstein and Gilbert Beilschmidt, right? You're the witnesses to the Heinz family murder, right?" The female one asked as they approached us. Roddie and I exchanged looks before nodding at her. Somehow, we just had to entertain them inside our hotel room, with Roddie taking Max from the stroller and carrying him like how he did before.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but we have to introduce ourselves to you…. We're handling the case now, and-"

"Huh? Weren't Eli and Det. Pfeife handling the case?"

It sounded strange and alarming. How did they get pulled off from that? Was it because Eli was our friend?

"Det. Pfeife and Ms. Hedervary were- let's just say they were incapacitated to continue with the investigation."

…

**Rattles and Cradle**

…

It was all crazy. This whole case was crazy.

I almost lost Roddie to that shadow monsters- only to find out that Eli was almost killed from falling from our flat earlier in the afternoon. Even Det. Pfeife was killed by a very sharp object straight in the eye. We were told they were on their way to meet us back in the flat, but someone else was in there and attacked both of them. The detective's COD was same as one of the Heinz- making the culprit one of the murderers.

A shadow monster.

Roddie, Max and I were in the reception, waiting to get to see Eli even from outside the ICU. She suffered terrible head trauma and concussion and some broken bones from the fall. She hadn't woken up yet, but at least we wanted to see her even if her condition wasn't stable at the moment.

The police guys were also there with us, and they were saying something about taking Max into their custody. They said Det. Pfeife found out that Max was seen in possession of the family before they were killed. They wanted to run tests on him to see if he could be a lead to the murderers.

However, they had a clear impression that they didn't believe what we said about the shadow monsters. They weren't accepting that as a lead for the murder- making me think they are suspecting us. The motive could be the baby, and the weapon could be anything they hadn't found yet. After seeing Eli, we would be interviewed at the station like suspects or accomplices or masterminds. Thing is, they were taking Max away.

If Roddie was right, we couldn't give the baby to them- or else, we'd be both dead.

"Gilbert, we had to get out of here." Roddie whispered at me while rocking Max gently. The baby was looking around, and it didn't seem good. If he could stop the monsters, then he would be able to sense them. Looking around could equate to sense.

"We need to see Eli first."

"I know. But I don't want them to take Max away from me."

"Roddie? He isn't yours. I know he could be protecting us, but we didn't have the legal right to stop them from taking custody."

"No. They couldn't just take him away like that."

"Hey, listen-"

I was trying to calm him down, but he was quite stubborn about it. He was acting strange ever since they mentioned about taking Max in custody. I didn't know what really happened that time he was attacked, but right now, I think something was messed up in that idiot's head.

Holding him down with an arm, I tried to make him stay seated. However, he wouldn't stop moving. The officers were noticing his movements already, and I didn't want them to shut him up their way. He then flung his gaze towards the officers- and that was more than a cue.

He took off and ran with Max in his arms, making me and the officers chase him furiously. "RODDIE!"

…

**End of Chapter 4**

…

Thanks for reading! Please review! My anon review is on~! Yeah, I'll get back to the kiss sooner.


	5. Maximillian Edelstein pt 2

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything from Hetalia: everything belongs to Hima-papa. Though I have some resources, none came from any story written in . Plot and dialogue are mein wassermelone!

**Warnings**: Gore, horror, strong language and some scary shit that could discourage people. Some hints of shounen-ai, I think. I also need to constantly remind you guys of jumping POVs.

**...**

**Rattles and Cradle**

**...**

Deciding to give Max away now, Roderich and Gilbert went to a hotel to spend more time with the baby. However, their supposed pleasant stay turned out to be another nightmare in the making.

The rest time started with a small strange attraction that Roderich held towards his friend who slept through it. Soon, he was attacked by the shadow monster, only to realize that Max was somewhat keeping the monster away.

The other guy woke up to a traumatized Roderich and with very bad news about Eli, and soon about Max's custody. More misfortune came to them as Roderich acted strange enough to flee with Max from the police.

The night was approaching, and no one could protect the deserted one from the terrors lurking in the shadows.

…

**Rattles and Cradle**

…

"RODDIE!"

I kept on yelling as I chased after Roddie who had Max with him. He didn't want to give him to the police so he would just choose to be thrown in jail for being some sort of a suspect and obstructer of justice. That was very strange for Roderich to do. I don't remember Roderich being this stupid and reckless.

I managed to grab him and pulled him to a stop, "Roddie! Listen to me!"

"No, I'm not going to give Max to them."

"Roddie, we don't-"

"I own him! He's mine. He'll be Maximilian Edelstein, and no one's taking him away from me!" He practically growled at me, causing me to let him go. He continued running, and I had to chase him again.

We fiercely ran along a network of alleys, getting hindered by stuff one might find in there somewhere. Roddie was running aimlessly- or towards a place I didn't know he had been to. He was one to get lost so much that getting a path right in these alleys would be a very big challenge to him. But it didn't show by the way he ran around.

He wasn't fazed at all. Like he knew where he was going and where dead-ends were. For a moment, it felt like I wasn't chasing Roddie at all. I was chasing someone else that stole Max from me.

The officers were just behind us, and I didn't really like for them to catch Roddie. They might hurt him or- wait, when did I care so much about his health? As long as he's alive, I was okay with it. But right now, I didn't want anyone to touch him. It's like something was happening to the two of us- starting from the day Max stayed in our house.

Could it be true that he was involved in the murder? If that's true, how? How did he fend off a horrendous monster to keep Roddie safe?

Thing was, is Roddie really safe?

We continued running and running, soon Roddie ran a bit faster than normal. I tried to keep up, but I was getting tired. It felt like we've been running for hours, and my legs were getting tired. Soon, we ended up with an alley obstructed with a high chain-link fence. However, Roddie was able to get to the other side with ease.

My legs had already given up, and I ended up slamming myself against the fence for support. With my hands gripped at it, I exhaustedly stared at Roddie's image that was starting to get farther and farther. However, in one point, I saw Max peek from his shoulder-

Eyes colored blood red and smiling viciously at me.

…

**Rattles and Cradle**

**Rei Haruno- Sakura no Imooto**

**Chapter 5: Maximilian Edelstein pt. 2**

…

Roddie was long gone when the officers caught up with us. They seemed to be interrupted by a lot of things to arrive this late. They ran this much only to see me leaning against the fence, breathing heavily and feeling so exhausted. I couldn't really run anymore- or even walk. But they told me to go back to the hospital since I still wanted to see Eli.

We reached the place slowly and escorted by some nurses that allowed us inside the ICU for a brief moment. The officers didn't do much but asked them about her condition. However, I kind of sat down next to her and cupped a hand at her cheek.

"Hey, Eli," I whispered, "Roddie's in danger. You don't want to see Roderich in danger, right? You should wake up."

I wished she would respond to my voice, but it all seemed to be a long-shot. She had a bad fall from a four-storey building, and it wasn't even six hours since she was hospitalized. Asking her to wake up now could be like asking for a miracle, but I need someone to make sure Roddie would be fine. Well, I do care enough to get worried about him after all.

With or without Roddie with me, I was still one of the suspects in the Heinz family murder. I had to be detained for the rest of the day and tomorrow for questioning. I would not have any trouble; my boss gave me some sort of vacation leave until the City Line started letting people out of Milchreis again. But then again, the night was coming, and the shadow creature might hunt me down this time.

It was a little past six when I was walked towards the station and inside the detention cell. I could see multiple people in there, some of them undeniably bad people. I just sat down the corner against the bars and hoped that nothing would happen while I was inside.

My eyes started going around to see how much space can the lights hit, and where could I end up seeing the shadow creatures lurking from. It didn't take me long enough to know the answers though- because at the darkest corner of the hall, I already saw one waiting to be noticed.

…

**Rattles and Cradle**

…

Today's cold was turned into rain, and it had been raining heavily for quite a while now. I found myself hiding underneath the cement tubes in the children's playground somewhere in Milchreis. The water was being absorbed by the sand and soil outside, but soon, it could make a pond and get to me- and to my baby.

A sudden surge went through me earlier, and I myself did not understand why I chose to run off from Gilbert and the police. I should have taken Gilbert with me, but it was too late to go back now. I wished I knew where he was because the night was coming. One of those things could be after him, and no one would understand if he tried to run away. It was all my fault.

I sighed in worry and anxiety, my mouth making a small cloud of hot breath. I was only wearing sufficient layers for the weather, but not enough for a heavy rain like this. It could already be hypothermia, and the fear of the shadow creatures made me panic.

I remembered when that thing showed me its face, and its voice that called me to love it. 'Love me, love me as your own-' it said. I found no significance in loving a shadow so I didn't know what it actually meant. It went inside me, but I had no memories of what it had really done.

The loud drops seemed to stop as a silhouette formed from the shadow casted by something outside. It didn't feel like the shadow creature so I turned to see who it was. Somehow, I got confused with what I saw.

It was the old lady from earlier. She still had this creep granny smile on her face, armed with an umbrella for the heavy rain. She gestured me to get out of the place and even walked me to the overhang before a coffee shop which was already closed at this hour.

"Where's your boyfriend, young man?" She smiled at me more. She would mean Gilbert, and I could just protest against her perception. However, I was not in the mood to care about that since I was indeed scared and thinking of him at the moment.

"I don't know. We got separated." That was a bit of a fib, but she bought it anyway.

"Leaving you out here in the rain, isn't he? What a very irresponsible man."

"It was my fault. I need to find him quick- before the night gets deeper."

"Ah, I would be glad to help you. You can leave your boy to me. I live in the fourth block if you wanted to have him back." She offered, but I found no reason to trust her. Her intentions could be innocent, but I needed Max more than ever. She mentioned about being out here past seven in the evening so I thought it was night already.

I just smiled at her and held the boy firmer, "I'm sorry. I wanted to keep him close-"

"No, it would be better if you leave him to me. You would be able to go around without worrying about him. Please give him to me."

"No."

"You don't need him to find your boyfriend, do you?"

"I need him."

"Ah, young man. It would be better if-"

She suddenly grabbed Max and tried to pull him away from me. Of course, I tried to fight back and succeeded in retaining my hold on him, but I had to push the old lady off to the wet floor. She fell onto a small pond of water, but she tried to get up as fast as she could. Again, she tried to get the baby away.

"You don't understand! This baby is a demon! I saw him being taken by each victim of the plague! He was the one causing them!"

"NO! You're the one who couldn't understand!"

Even though it would hurt Max, we had to struggle and take Max from each other. However, in one moment, Max started crying, and the old lady took my distraction as a chance to grab him away from me. I tried to get him back, but she started yelling at me, "I have to kill this child! I will kill this demon child!"

It was surely confusing if I had not seen him 'tame' the creature. I could not just tell her I knew what she was talking about because it would only encourage her in hurting the poor baby. I tried to convince her to just give me the baby, but in one moment, she stopped moving. Her eyes began dilate, and her shoulders started to relax. Before I could form a word, I saw red dots forming on her forehead.

I did not realize those were holes until claws were coming out from her forehead!

My mouth gaped, disbelief and panic making me tremble once again. The claws were black, and I already knew what did that to her. A figure rose behind her, and that was the shadow creature. I did not want to see its face again, but I had to go near. The dying woman would drop Max if I did not snatch him before her arms fell to her sides.

The creature let her go and bleed on the small water pond under her. It then started to walk towards me and my baby, the white lines forming. That was more than a cue for me to run off again. This time, I wanted to make sure it would not be able to follow me. Max stopped crying and just clung against me as I ran off as fast as I could. I could hear the whispers in the background of my loud beating heart, reminding me of that monster in pursuit.

Gilbert. I need to find Gilbert. Wait, if we were being interrogated, then he could be still in the police station at this hour! I needed to hurry- I needed to catch him still alive!

…

**Rattles and Cradle**

…

It's been an hour since I got here, and the figure in the shadows still had not moved a bit. It seemed to be waiting for a perfect chance to attack. Actually, it was relieving me in away- if only it was the only thing I had to worry about while here in the detention cell.

Gazes were pinned on me by everyone else in the cell as me. They seemed to be eyeing at me differently from one another, but it kind of felt all the same to me. I would glance at them at times, but I refused to spare some attention for them. Until someone started talking.

"I was put here because I robbed a store. Simon here did the same in a clothing store. Freddy started a fire in his own apartment. Milchreis became hell ever since we were trapped inside the city. They were raising demons so why are we even held here? Really ironic. They expect everyone to behave normally."

"They think I killed my neighbors." It was all I could say to humor him. I was too busy staring at the motionless shadow creature from my view next to the bars.

"Didn't you really kill them? With a state of mind like everyone in Milchreis-"

"I did not. End of story."

The gaze of interest and curiosity turned into glares. Soon, I felt someone grabbed me by the collar and pulled me to a standing position before slamming me against the bars. That was the first time I saw these people around me. They were like the stereotypical criminals, and they eyed at me exactly how the society said they would.

"Hey, pal. We are all being purged here because of a goddamn plague. With a weak police force like this, I could pretty much do what I want with you."

I could only frown at him. Everyone here looked like they needed something to cool their steam off, and the slightest thing to piss them got them really furious. Whether I answer or not, they would probably beat me up since no officer was watching the detention cell these days. My only real concern was the shadow creature which-

"What are you looking at over there, huh?" The stupid criminal grabbed my face to make me face him. Soon, one of his 'pals' came near the bar and stared at the direction I stared. He made a clear gesture of 'nothing is there' before the other guy started speaking nonsensical stuff towards me again.

I wanted to punch him, but I did not want my detention to stay longer. Besides, I got a shadow monster to watch outside this cell.

Due to my lack of reaction, I got slammed against the bars again, and this time, it hurt like holy shit. I coiled up a bit in pain before getting ganged up by the three criminals detained there with me. I want to fight back, but my body started trembling and my heartbeat started to go haywire. I was not aware of what was happening: my body hair started sticking up, my whole body started to tremble, and my breathing started to go off.

Before I knew it, I was getting beaten up- and scared shitless- on the floor.

Then, a certain melody played: one I knew just hours ago. The whispers were faint and distant- the monster seemed to start moving now. My eyes closed in pain again, and my hearing was disturbed by a terrified scream from one of them. Soon, something dripped on my face, which made me open my eyes again to see what was there.

Blood. Blood was dripping fast, and my face might have been covered by it soon.

My gaze went up to the person who was supposed to be kicking me mercilessly. However, all that stood there was a lifeless man with an outstretched claw from the bars pierced through his head. The view was horrible, and was made more horrible by the fact the claw was black.

It was already there. The shadow monster was standing outside the bars and just killed a detained person.

The other two detained people screamed louder and went against the wall at the other side. They were scared shitless, and I pretty much knew why. It must have appeared out of nowhere- but how come the whispers stayed low? Or was it my hearing?

Of course, the main target was me all along. It looked down at me before pulling its claw off the other human. It then tried to reach for me before we all heard a gunshot. A red hole in the monster's head appeared, and another one came as we heard another gunshot. Soon, it fell down, and an officer came to see us.

Everyone sounded talking, but I could not make out the words they say. I just noticed the officer opened the cell and let the other two out, and he came to help me up. When we were exiting the cell, the monster was not there anymore, and the horrified look on the officer's face got worse.

"What was that thing?" He murmured loud enough for me to understand.

There were three other officers outside the hall who had the detainees cuffed again. We were sat on the holding area, and they started talking among themselves. The other two detainees were shocked and quiet, while I was getting loud inside my mind.

It did come to kill me like how Roddie said. Thinking about that, I wonder where that idiot was. It was already night time, and he could be chased by one of them as well. This was getting all too fantastical for me. What the fuck was going on? What the actual fuck was going on!?

Whispers. It was back.

I looked around to follow the source of the whispers. I guess getting beaten up damaged my hearing for a while, but I could still feel where the danger would come from due to my instincts. I gulped down the forming lump in my throat as I noticed everyone heard what I was hearing. Six people here did not know what was going to happen, and being in the holding area would make it easier to escape. I just wished I could.

…

**End of Chapter 5**

…

Thanks for reading! Please review! My anon review is on!


	6. Leading Staircase

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything from Hetalia: everything belongs to Hima-papa. Though I have some resources, none came from any story written in . Plot and dialogue are mein wassermelone!

**Warnings**: Gore, horror, strong language and some scary shit that could discourage people. Some hints of shounen-ai, I think. I also need to constantly remind you guys of jumping POVs.

**...**

**Rattles and Cradle**

**...**

It was a fierce chase and a very bewildering experience for Gilbert. It seemed like something possessed Roderich, and seeing how Max looked made sure of it. However, he had to be detained as a primary suspect of the case.

Soon, Roderich found himself taking shade from the heavy rain in the city. There, he met the old lady again who ended up dead for trying to kill the baby. Certainly, he knew Max was not normal, but he had other priorities.

Like what he thought, a shadow monster appeared in the police station which was stopped by officers. Gilbert was lucky to be alive despite being beaten up, and no one knew how long that luck would go.

Right then, they need escape and redemption. For now, they needed to rest.

…

**Rattles and Cradle**

…

It was already fifteen minutes past seven when I got to the police station. No one readily arrested me so I presumed the officers earlier were still out there looking for me. I then walked to the receptionist and asked if they were holding someone named Gilbert Beilschmidt. She did say yes and offered me a towel to dry myself with, but she had to turn me away because no one was allowed to see him at the moment.

I could only hope that despite this darkness, he would still be alive in there somewhere. Though those creatures attack in broad daylight or under bright lights, I still wished for him to be safe. I just nodded at her and went to sit down among the others who were waiting for their acquaintances or relatives.

My anxiety started to flow through Max; I knew it by seeing him want to comfort me. I then let him clung towards me more, rocking him gently to ease him despite the coolness of being soaked in the rain. I knew he was not a normal baby at all, but I couldn't let it show with other people around me. I needed to get to Gilbert fast.

Even though I would just stay there and wait for Gilbert, I had this feeling I had to get inside even though they told me not to go. Since they were short in manpower, it would be easy getting inside. My eyes stared at every officer in the reception, trying to find a chance to move. I might be very dependent, but I could still go and do things on my own.

After taking a glance at Max, I secretly took off to get inside when a bunch of people started talking to the receptionist. Finding a room to start looking was hard, but I think what I found was something more difficult to do.

The female officer who took over the case was there, and she already saw me. She then walked towards me cautiously in case I ran off again. I actually tried, but another set of hands held my shoulders. I guess it was her partner who held me in place as she got nearer to question me.

"Did you come here to bail your boyfriend out? I'm sorry, but we had to take you and your child into custody."

"I want to see Gilbert, but I'm not letting you take the child away." I frowned at her as I held Max firmer. I just lost in a tug of war earlier, and I might just lose again if ever she insisted. In her face, I saw she would ignore my plea and still take the child away.

She was about to take the child when we heard a gunshot.

It alarmed the officers more as another one echoed through. That was when I decided to take off again and run towards where the detention cell could be. I just had the hunch he would be there since he was taken into custody. We all ran to the same direction which was towards the gunshot.

I grabbed the knob and swung the door open, only to see men gathered at the holding area before the detention cell. Gilbert was there, sporting such a very surprised expression. I was about to call him when he ran towards me, soon knocking down the officers behind me.

We should not be running like fugitives, but the loud whispers were already behind us.

…

**Rattles and Cradle**

**Rei Haruno- Sakura no Imooto**

**Chapter 6: Leading Staircase**

…

We heard their voices trying to make us stop, but the whispers were louder so we could not. We might have Max with us, but he might not try to stop that creature because of the presence of the other people. It was just a theory so I did not know if he would or not. I could not risk it though.

Instead of getting out using the reception, Gilbert decided to try the backdoor which we just instinctively found. However, before getting through the door, the fool suddenly tripped and rolled down the short stairs. His body was trembling, and he seemed to be very weak. Not having spare time to check up on him, I just grabbed him by the collar and pulled him up before grabbing him by the arm as we continued to run.

I was so good at getting lost and trapped, but it felt like it was not going to happen this time. Under the heavy rain, we again ran around a network of alleys, guided by my hunch alone. It was getting harder to move since it was almost zero visibility- one wrong step, and we could be tumbling down to jail for sure.

"Roddie, this way!"

Gilbert suddenly exclaimed, and I just followed his lead. He slowed down and walked towards an old-looking house and did his best to break in. I did not know whose house this was, but Gilbert's confidence in not getting caught assured me its safety. We went in the house, and he blocked the door with a chair.

"There should be switch on your left." He spoke despite the weakness and fatigue. I did what he said, and it showed a nice home. I found myself looking around, and then he went to the sofa and crashed in there. Feeling exhaustion myself, I walked near him and placed Max on the adjacent chair before sitting down on the sofa as well.

I noticed the plastic zip cuffs on him and looked around for anything which could cut it off. I found dressmaking scissors lying around and tried to free him. He noticed what I was doing, but he did nothing until it came off. He then shifted to sit down properly but soon slouched.

"Whose house is this?" I asked him, storing the scissors where I found them.

"Mutti's. She went away a year ago so this place was pretty much vacant."

"Your mother had a very nice place."

"Start the fireplace. I'll see if we could change to some clothes left here. My little brother used to live here with her so he might have something for us to use. Stay there." He spoke as he weakly got up to go around. His voice did not sound like he was feeling nostalgia being in his mother's house. Perhaps, it was not a pleasant experience.

I approached the supposed fireplace and saw some dials and buttons at the sides. It seemed to be some kind of electric fireplace with a display to make it look like a fireplace rather than a heater. I just had to turn the thing on and set the temperature, right? Successfully doing so, the heat started, warming our rain-soaked bodies. I stayed there for a while to warm my hands, soon taking off my glasses fogged by moisture.

Walking back to Max, I had to take off his clothes before he start getting some colds. He might not be human at all, but I couldn't resist taking care of the baby. I had always wanted to take care of one. My hands went to clear his face from raindrops, and ran through his wet locks. Due to the cold, his cute nose was reddened as well as his little ears.

"I'm sorry, Max. Right now, I don't know what to believe in about you."

He eyed at me curiously as if understanding what I just said. Perhaps, he knew of my dilemma in giving him away. It was not that bad actually, just some intense feeling of attachment to this poor child.

"We knew he's bringing us fucking trouble, at least."

My brows furrowed as I turned to Gilbert's direction. We both knew these things happen because of Max, but it was not right to say that in front of the child. Even though he was something demonic, he was still a child- at least to me and my perception of him.

The fool did find clothes as well as towels to dry ourselves with. He laid them on the center table and took one for himself. I also took one to dry Max. (Fortunately, his diaper was keeping him dry.) While drying Max's hair, I tried to strike another conversation with Gilbert- only to see him checking out his bruises.

"I don't think your trip did that."

"Tell me about it." He only smirked, and sighed in pain and relief. He seemed to be in great pain, but he kept on moving like it was nothing. He was silently groaning while checking them, hissing as his grip put pressure in any of them. I was not making a sound, but it seemed he caught me looking.

"Don't stare like you want this."

"Want what?"

"Something I'm too sexy for." That wink was uncalled for.

"Are you trying to seduce me? You should try harder." I only raised a brow at his attempt. He was trying to strike some sort of pose which did not actually make me want **it**. Well, he would not know how he got my interest once.

He just laughed bitterly and continued stripping to put on new clothes. I had to finish drying the child's hair before removing my own clothes to change. I was not looking at Gilbert at this point, but I listened to him as he spoke, "So what are we going to do with Max?"

"What do you mean 'what'? I believe he's not causing this on his own. He could be just a lure-"

I had to stop talking. His facial expression suddenly changed from carefree to serious upon hearing my answer. I knew what he wanted to hear from me, but I just could not decide which course to take at the moment.

"Roddie, come here." He spoke me as he seemed to grab my arm and dragged me behind the sofa. From there, Max would not be able to see us. Wanting for him not to hear us as well, Gilbert started whispering, "Roddie, his eyes turned red. I saw it change. Back there at the alley, he was controlling you."

"-No need to convince me he was not human. I know that myself, but he's just a child for God's sake, Gilbert. We couldn't just kill him and hope this will end." No. There should be another way to end this.

He sighed in mixed emotions before looking at Max's direction. He then looked straight at me again.

"Are you crazy? I don't even know if we will not die even if we get rid of him. Without him, those things will kill us. If the police catch us, we're good as dead in the cell. Trust me, I know."

Gilbert was right. Either way, we would have a doomed life. If we give him up, it'll be all over. If we keep on running away from the police, we will still be killed. However, I really wanted to have him around me.

"There should be something we could do." I whispered under my breath.

"Yeah."

He then shifted and leaned against the sofa. He took the deepest breath I saw him did before looking so helpless while hanging his head.

"For now, I wanted to rest. It's been another long day, and I don't want it to be longer by thinking about shit my mind rejects to think about." My mouth just moved to speak the words I could read from his actions. However, he seemed to think those words were actually mine.

"I guess you're right. Man, I'm really exhausted. My body hurts." He chuckled as he started massaging his shoulder. He then lifted his face to have his head lean against the sofa as well. He closed his eyes and sighed once more, looking his most miserable.

Enough to make me want to do something about it.

…

**Rattles and Cradle**

…

Roddie was staring at me the whole time. I wonder how I looked in front of him right now.

With my head and my back pressed against the sofa, I suddenly turned to him with a frown. I felt so uncomfortable being stared at. I felt someone had been watching me every fucking minute for the past hours; hell, I want to not fucking feel watched even just for some fucking minutes.

"Is something wrong?" He asked with a confused tone. He had no idea it was him all along.

"Do you want something from me? You've been staring."

"Nothing really. I did not want to admit, but I'm getting worried about you."

He had his 'defeated yet still proud' look on his face. Somehow, it made me feel like Roddie was not actually empathizing well. Then again, it was nothing new; he had always been so passive.

His stare seemed to be a bit more meaningful than the ones I received before. Maybe, he really meant it when he said he was worried. Man, I was starting to get this 'last day on Earth' feeling the more he stared at me that way. We both did not swing that way, but I wanted to kind of tease him a little bit.

Like always when everything was still normal.

"Heh, want to comfort me? Come here!"

I smirked at him, menacing enough for me to earn a frown. However, more than a frown answered me when I tapped my lap.

"What the fuck are you thinking?" He quickly retorted after I made my move. His face was so funny. I couldn't help but to chuckle loudly until it started fading. It was a laugh of entertainment soon leaving a bitter smile on my face.

"Holy shit, we're dying, Roddie." I whispered.

I just realized that. Even though I did not really want to think or talk about it, it kept on coming back to my mind. No matter what we do, we would not be able to live our lives like how we used to. We did not even know if we would have a life to come back to after this.

"S-Still."

"I'm not ready to fucking die. I'm not even fucking sure if I had something like some sort of accomplishment over the years I lived my fucking life."

My gaze left him for only a few seconds. I felt my mind was getting as tired as my body was, and there were still things to do for me to have some sort of peace of mind. I might be crying, but I was too drained to even stop or hide my tears.

"It's so rare for you to just suddenly bawl like a baby. Max does not even cry like that." Roddie sighed as he started moving closer. He then hesitated touching my head before he slowly ran his hand through my hair over and over again. Roddie soon pulled me to his shoulder, whispering, "I know it's scary. We're both being scared shitless here. It's alright to get scared, but we can't just lose all hopes of fixing this."

"You talk like you're not getting affected, though."

"I took Max into our home, and you expect me to be hysterical about this." Roddie almost huffed as he spoke, yet I could hear a shred of pity in his voice. He must be feeling really responsible for everything that happened to both of us. Then again, it got washed away by his pity towards someone else, "One more thing, I don't really regret taking Max. You weren't there when I picked him up."

"Tch, you're too passive. Anyway, I still want you to sit here."

This was my moment; don't you dare steal it away. I was the one who was supposed to be depressed here, but then again, it was heartbreaking: how he sounded.

Needless to say, Roddie frowned at me again as I pulled myself away from his shoulder and embrace. He then huffed as he slowly mounted my legs, "I don't know what kind of difference this will make."

"Shhh. I'm trying to create a mood here. Don't make me have you taste my hate when we kiss."

"K-Kiss?" He gasped softly before turning away with all his complaint written on his face. He then frowned at me again, "Why should **we** kiss?"

"I can't sleep like this. Too much shit on my mind (and the pain is turning me on)."

"-Can't I just sing you a lullaby?" Roddie sighed in resignation as he moved closer so we could reach each other.

Roddie was not as light as I thought he was; his presence on top of me was making pang ran around my body. Aside from that, there was something else my body was getting really busy with. As he reached my lap, he knew what I was talking about.

However, he did not pay much attention to it as he went to hold my face with both his hands. He was starting to blush faintly, but his tone was still protesting, "I'm just going with this because you asked me to. You should go and get yourself a girlfriend."

"If I had the time to, I will."

He huffed once before sealing our lips together, soon trying to suck each other's lips. My hands, which were just on his waist earlier, started running through his shirtless body- making the night longer than we planned.

…

**End of Chapter 6**

…

Thanks for reading! Please review! My anon review is on~! (I still need to regain my Y-scene groove so no action.)


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